Enhanced electromagnetic wave absorption properties of a novel SiC nanowires reinforced SiO2/3Al2O3•2SiO2 porous ceramic

To realize the broad-bandwidth and high-efficiency absorption characteristics, a novel SiC nanowires reinforced SiO2/3Al(2)O(3)center dot 2SiO(2) porous ceramic was successfully fabricated by method of precursor infiltration pyrolysis (PIP). Polycarbosilane (PCS) and ferrocene (Fe(C5H5)(2)) were used as the precursor and catalyst to incorporate SiC nanowires into the SiO2/3Al(2)O(3)center dot 2SiO(2) porous ceramic. The curvy SiC nanowires formed three-dimensional (3D) networks with a proper nanometer heterostructure, thereby consuming the microwave energies. The influence of SiC nanowires contents on the microwave absorption properties was investigated. The results indicate that the SiC nanowires contents can be tuned by controlling the PIP cycles, thereby modifying the dielectric properties of as-prepared composite ceramics. The dielectric and electromagnetic wave absorption performances are gradually enhanced with an increasing of SiC nanowires contents. The SiC nanowires reinforced SiO2/3Al(2)O(3)center dot 2SiO(2) composite ceramic exhibits excellent electromagnetic wave absorption abilities when the SiC nanowires content is 23.9% (PIPS). The minimum reflection coefficient (RCmin) of the composite ceramic is - 30 dB at 10.0 GHz, corresponding to more than 99.9% of the electromagnetic wave consumption. The effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) can cover the frequency ranges of 8.2-12.4 GHz (the entire X-band) at the thickness of 5.0 mm. In general, the novel SiC nanowires reinforced SiO2/3Al(2)O(3)center dot 2SiO(2) composite ceramic can be considered as a promising electromagnetic wave absorbing material.